FERGIE FERGUSON

TOP 17: BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a song written by Fergie and Toby Gad for pop singer Fergie's debut solo album The Dutchess (2006). The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2007 (see 2007 in music) and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in Australia (for nine consecutive weeks—also becoming the number-one single in the ARIA's Year End Charts for 2007), and in the United States. It was the most downloaded track in the U.S., with sales of more than 3,080,000 copies sold. In July 2007, Fergie performed the song at the Concert for Diana and Live Earth. By the end of August 2007, the song became Fergie's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was nominated in the 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, which was held February 10, 2008. The song appears in Dance Dance Revolution X, Singstar Pop Vol 2, and Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2. The song was listed at #89 on Billboard: All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs^[1] and the 13th most successful song of the decade at the end of 2009 on the BillboardHot 100 Songs of the Decade. It was also named the 8th most successful pop song of the decade (Mainstream Top 40).^[2]

Background

After "Big Girls Don't Cry" was written, Fergie and her management felt that the song did not fit the theme of her album and decided not to record it. However, her management felt that the song was too strong to let go, so they decided to shop the song around to different record labels. Eventually, the song was sold to Bad Boy Records, where it was handed to Jordan McCoy. McCoy's team felt they had a huge hit on their hands and quickly recorded the song, assuring Fergie and her management that they were going to release it as a single. However, according to McCoy, after Fergie heard their finished version, she had a change of heart and recorded the song as well. Without the knowledge of Bad Boy Records, Fergie went ahead and tagged it on to her album at the last minute. Jordan and her team were upset by Fergie's decision, scrapped the entire project and considered suing Fergie. However, because Fergie co-wrote the song, she had partial ownership and they could not sue her.

[edit]Composition

"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a moderate pop song written in the key of G major.^[3] The tempo is composed in common time and the verse follows the major chord G/B-Csus2-D5, the chorus C-G-D-(Em).^[3] The song was compared to as an exact 2006 version of Wild Orchid.^[4]

[edit]Chart performance

The song has achieved high success worldwide, topping the charts in over ten countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, Austria, Romania, Croatia and the U.S. In Brazil the song was the most played on the radio in 2007. In the UK it surpassed "London Bridge" as her highest charting solo single thus far, peaking at number two (behind only Rihanna's 10 week chart topping "Umbrella"); the single has spent 23 weeks on the UK Singles Chart Top 40 and 9 weeks in the Top 10.^[5] After spending several weeks in the number two and three positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, "Big Girls Don't Cry" finally ascended to number one, becoming Fergie's third Hot 100 number-one single, and second consecutive after "Glamorous" in early 2007. Thanks to this achievement Fergie has become only the second American female solo artist in the '00s to have three chart-toppers from one album after Christina Aguilera in 1999-2000.^[6] In addition to the Hot 100, the song topped the Billboard Pop 100, Pop 100 Airplay, Hot 100 Airplay, and Hot Digital Songs charts. It also became her first number one on both the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and the Adult Top 40, where on the latter she became the first female artist to top that chart after 52 weeks of number ones by male artists. The song is one of the most successful singles of 2007 in the U.S., as it stayed in the top ten of The Hot 100 for 21 consecutive weeks, 18 of those in the top five.^[6]

It is most played song of 2007 on U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio (becoming the number-one single of 2007 on the and the eighth most successful track of 2000s on the same tally), and the most successful song of 2007 by peak position on American Top 40 (eight weeks at number one). The song debuted at number thirty-two and reached number one on its thirteenth week, staying there for five consecutive weeks. The song stayed in the chart for forty-nine weeks, twenty-six of which were in the top ten. In Australia it was certified 2x Platinum byARIA for combined sales of over 140,000 copies, and ended as the year's biggest hit, ranked at number-one on the ARIA Year-End singles chart for 2007. It was also the longest running number one single at the top spot with 9 consecutive weeks (10 in the Download Chart) and the last to do so. Also, despite only spending a week at #1 on the New Zealand RIANZ singles chart, "Big Girls Don't Cry" has become the fourth most successful single in RIANZ music history and the second best seller in the country for 2007. It spent a total of 38 weeks on the chart.^[7]

[edit]Music video

Fergie in the music video.

The music video was directed by Anthony Mandler and began production on March 30, 2007. The video had a 'First Look' on MTV's TRL on May 16, 2007 and has since peaked at #5 on May 24, 2007. The video topped Vh1's Top 40 Videos of 2007 list. Milo Ventimiglia plays Fergie's love interest. The video begins with Fergie getting out of her car (a red 1969 Mustang fastback) and going inside a warehouse where she meets her band and practices. Meanwhile, she is seen singing next to her boyfriend, who is sleeping. She starts walking through the house, and is then watching herself and her boyfriend from a different point of view getting out of her car. They go into the house, and her boyfriend gets out a guitar and starts playing, while Fergie is singing. Later on, she sees her boyfriend out the window with several guys, one of whom passes him a small package, which is presumably drugs, and it upsets her. Fergie then starts singing the chorus while she is taking her clothes off a clothes line and putting them into a suitcase. As the third verse begins, Fergie is walking around a warehouse singing while wearing a tan-gray baby doll dress. At the end of the song, she is seen getting into her car and driving down the road. There are two music videos: the main version features the garage scene mixed with the others; the extended, in which the song is performed twice, the first time it was sang features all the scenes, excluding the garage scenes, the second time it only features unseen garage scenes and the normal garage sensual scenes. A remix was made of the song in late 2007, which retained the vocals of the original, but with a new, 1980s-reminiscent sound, with none of the acoustic guitars present in the original. Titled the "Big Girls Remix", it featured reggae star Sean Kingston, who records his vocals over the new beat and after his verses, it goes into the chorus of the original and basically maintains Fergie's vocals for the rest of the song. A video was also made for this version.

[edit]Track listing

• UK CD Single

1. "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Album Version) - 4:28
2. "Pedestal" - 3:23

• Australian CD Single

1. "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Album Version) - 4:28
2. "Pedestal" - 3:22
3. "Finally" (Live) - 3:50
4. "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Video) - 5:08

[edit]Charts, certification and procession

[edit]Charts Chart Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[9] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 6 Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[11] 27 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 1 Czech Republic (IFPI)[13] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[14] 4 European Hot 100 Singles[15] 3 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 10 France (SNEP)[17] 11 Germany (Media Control AG)[18] 6 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[19] 30 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 1 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[21] 4 New Zealand (RIANZ)[22] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[23] 1 Slovakia (IFPI)[24] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 4 Switzerland (Media Control AG)[26] 3 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[27] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[28] 1 US Pop Songs (Billboard)[29] 1

[edit]Certifications Country Certification (sales thresholds) Australia 2× Platinum[30] Brazil Platinum[31] Denmark Platinum[32] New Zealand Platinum[33] Norway Gold[34] Sweden Gold[35] United States 3× Platinum[36] [edit]End of year charts Charts (2007) Position Australian Singles Chart[37] 1 German Singles Chart[38] 22 New Zealand Singles Chart[39] 2 UK Singles Chart[40] 21 US Billboard Hot 100[41] 4

[edit]See also

• List of number-one singles in Australia in 2007
• List of number-one hits of 2007 (Austria)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (Canada)
• List of number-one singles of 2007 (Ireland)
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (U.S.)
• List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2007 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2007 (U.S.)

[edit]References

1. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-90.shtml Billboard.com
2. ^ Hot 100 Decade Songs
3. ^ ^a b Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry Sheet Music (Print Instantly)
4. ^ Billboard.com - Discography - Fergie - The Dutchess
5. ^ http://www.polyhex.com/music/chartruns/chartruns.php
6. ^ ^a b [1] Billboard.com
7. ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Fergie&titel=Big+Girls+Don%27t+Cry&cat=sCharts.org.nz
8. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
9. ^ "Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry" (in French). Ultratop 40. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
12. ^ "Fergie Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Fergie. Prometheus Global Media.
13. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200742 into search.
14. ^ "Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry Hitlisten.nu" (in Danish).Tracklisten. IFPI Danmark & Nielsen Music Control.
15. ^ "Fergie Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Fergie. Prometheus Global Media.
16. ^ "Finnishcharts.com – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry". Suomen virallinen lista. Hung Medien.
17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
18. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
19. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
20. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. GfK.
21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
22. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry". VG-lista. Hung Medien.
24. ^ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200735 into search.
25. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
26. ^ "Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
27. ^ "Chart Stats – Fergie – Big Girls Don't Cry" UK Singles Chart. Chart Stats.
28. ^ "Fergie Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Fergie. Prometheus Global Media.
29. ^ "Fergie Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Fergie. Prometheus Global Media.
30. ^ "Accreditations - 2007 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
31. ^ "Certificados Interna" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2010-07-29.
32. ^ "Guld og platin i 2007". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
33. ^ "Top 40 Singles". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2010-07-23. Note: The reader must select Chart #1603 - Monday 11 February 2008 to show the certification.
34. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
35. ^ "Guld och platina 2007". IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
36. ^ "Gold & Platinum - Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
37. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles 2007". ARIA. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
38. ^ http://www.mtv.de/charts/Single_Jahrescharts_2007
39. ^ "Annual Top 50 Singles Chart 2007". RIANZ. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
40. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2007". UK ChartsPlus. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
41. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Singles 2007". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-07-31.

[show]v · d · eFergie

[show]v · d · eSean Kingston FERGIE LYRICS  Send "Big Girls Don't Cry" Ringtone to your Cell  "Big Girls Don't Cry" Da Da Da Da The smell of your skin lingers on me now You're probably on your flight back to your home town I need some shelter of my own protection baby To be with myself and center, clarity Peace, Serenity [CHORUS:] I hope you know, I hope you know That this has nothing to do with you It's personal, myself and I We've got some straightenin' out to do And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket But I've got to get a move on with my life It's time to be a big girl now And big girls don't cry Don't cry Don't cry Don't cry The path that I'm walking I must go alone I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they? And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay [CHORUS] Like the little school mate in the school yard We'll play jacks and uno cards I'll be your best friend and you'll be my Valentine Yes you can hold my hand if you want to 'Cause I want to hold yours too We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds But it's time for me to go home It's getting late, dark outside I need to be with myself and center, clarity Peace, Serenity [CHORUS] La Da Da Da Da Da